In between
by orvokki
Summary: It's gender bender time for Connor Temple. And his 'cousin' seems to take interest on our good captain. ..Oh dear.
1. Chapter 1

If you recognize it, I don't own it.

**Primeval – In between**

Prologue.

The anomaly flickered in the dark corner of the hangar. The small planes creaked a bit as the magnetic field exploded into function. There was a moment of total silence before a lone figure staggered through the light crystals.

In the shadows it was impossible to see other than it was a human. It swayed a bit before it dropped down to its knees and then down to the dusty floor with a silent thud.

The anomaly flickered. If there would have been someone to hear it, they would have heard a scream of agony. Then there was darkness.

..

TBC. Short, I know, but it's just the prologue :)


	2. Chapter 2

If you recognize it, I don't own it.

**Primeval – In Between**

Chapter 1.

Abby Maintland sat in her mini. She tapped her fingers to the steering wheel as she counted the seconds flying by. They had gotten an anomaly alert 10 minutes ago, and even though she was up and ready to go within 7 minutes, her flatmate was not so fast. How long does it take to pull a pair of trousers up anyway, she shook her blond mane.

Even in their day off, they were always on alert to go if needed.

"Come on Connor.." She muttered under her breath. And as on a cue the dark haired young man ran out from the house slamming the door close behind him. Abby had to grin at his enthusiasm. Even though he had had his share of brush with pain and death, he still grinned widely every time they got an alert.

"Let's go then yeah?" He said as he sat next to her. The black fedora hat nearly fell off his head as she pushed the escalator.

"Took yer time did ya?" She commented.

"I had to put Sid n' Nancy to the bedroom." He protested weakly, but Abby just scoffed.

"Don't blame the kids for being late all the time."

"I'm not…" He got cut of by his phone ringing. "Hiya Danny.. Yep, coming. No Abby's driving. What? Now just hold on a sec.. Oh.." He turned to look at her. "Danny says the anomaly has already closed, but he and Becker are gonna go check it out to make sure that nothing came through." She nearly laughed out loud at the sour face he made.

"So, we can go straight to ARC then?"

"Seems so." He sighed.

"Wanna get something to eat? Maybe a cuppa tea?"

"Yeah ok."

..

She groaned.

Her head hurt.

The predator had gotten a really good swing at her this time. She could feel the dried blood flake away from her neck as she slowly sat up from the dust covered floor.

Her hand flew to her side, only to find her gun gone, as well as her bag.

"Ohhh.. Bollocks…" She cursed. Her anomaly detector was in the bag. Not good. Not good at all. She coughed a bit, and then carefully stood up to her trembling feet. There were planes around her, so at least she wasn't too far in the past, not in the future either since the machines seemed to be in use.

Her vision blurred a bit, but she could still make out a neon green sign that said "EXIT". Debating only for a second or two she set her mind to the goal of getting outside. The anomaly was closed and not likely to open for some time. And she needed help, and food. She leaned to the nearby plane for support as she slowly limped closer to the door.

Just as she was about to reach for the handle the door opened and she found herself at gunpoint.

"..Don't shoot." She slowly raised her hands to show she posed no threat.

"It's okay, Becker. She's human." Said a voice behind the man holding the gun. The gun lowered slowly and before she knew it she was forcefully pulled outside to the bright sunlight.

With a moan of protest she sunk down to her knees again. Her head hurt. Horribly.

The man who had spoken kneeled beside her. "You okay love?" He asked, placing a calming hand on her neck, she knew when he hit the sore spot as he froze with the contact to the now flowing blood. "Oh hell..." He continued in surprisingly calm voice.

"S ok.. Dan.. "She slurred. "Just a… scratch.." And with that she slumped down.

He just barely caught her before she hit the ground.

Danny Quinn stared down at the pale face. Had she just called him Dan? How..? The feeling of familiarity had flushed over him as he had seen her pulled outside. But still, he was sure he hadn't seen her before. He looked over at Becker as the Special Ops Captain exited the hangar.

"It's secure." The dark haired soldier told him. "No creatures."

"Nothing but her." Danny lifted the limp body from the ground. She didn't weight much, and by the look of her clothes she had had some rough times lately. "Does.. Does she feel familiar to you?"

"Hmm?" Becker gazed the limp form. "No. Why?"

"She called me Dan."

"Looks like she lives on the streets, maybe you arrested her in the past?" Becker shrugged as he made his way back to the car. "Come on, we have to take her back with us. Lester will want to know what she knows."

"She needs some patching up."

"We can do that at the ARC. Come on."

"Yeah yeah."

..

At the main hall of the ARC the Anomaly Detection Device chirped and then went black.

Connor, whom was just about to leave for the day, stopped dead on his tracks. "Oh no." He hurried over to the screens. "Oh Hell no!"

"What is it now?" Came the voice of his boss, James Lester.

"I Don't know.. I.. The power.." Connor stuttered. "It just died."

"Well make it live again, that is what you do right?" Was the reply he got.

"Yeah, of course, right away."

"..Of al the incompetent…" He heard his boss mutter as he vanished back into his office.

Connor tried to restart the machine, but it didn't even blink. He could feel the short hair in his neck to stand up. "Come on." He muttered, checking the wires and connections, but nothing was out of place. And then screens flickered back on. "Huh?"

"Good job." He heard Abby say just behind him.

"I didn't do anything." He exclaimed. "It just.. I don't know…"

"Well it works now right?"

"Yeah, it seems to be ok, but I better run the diagnostics anyway."

"Hmm, so you're going to be here all evening?"

"More or less. Sorry." He gave her an apoplectic smile.

"Do you want company?"

"Nah, it's not very entertaining, I guess." Connor grinned widely, knowing very well that Abby had plans to go out with her friends tonight. "I'll manage, I'll get action man to give me a lift when I'm done."

"You sure?"

"Yeah." He waived his hand. "Go on, have fun with yer mates yeah?"

..

Working with anomalies had taught her something about waking up in odd places. But now, for the first time since she got lost in the first place she knew exactly where she was.

She was at the ARC. Finally.

It had taken her eighty-two days. Eighty-two long days. Fear filled, dark and sometimes painful days.

But she was home now.

A gentle swoosh of air told her that the door to the infirmary had been opened. She looked to her left and lazily lifted her hand to a greeting. It was Maggie, the nurse whom she had had patch her up so many times before.

"Hi." She whispered with a smile, happy to see a familiar face.

"Awake are we?" The woman said as she checked the IV going to her right wrist.

"Sort of." She yawned. "Can I sit up? I feel odd."

"No wonder miss, with that blow to the head. Those idiots should have called the emergency team, but no, they just grabbed you and drove here themselves." The nurse huffed as she helped her into a more comfortable position.

"I.. okay.." She was confused. Why did Maggie act as she was a stranger? Had her appearance changed so much that she just hadn't recognized her yet? Sure, her dark hair had grown, and she'd lost some weight, and even got a few new scars, but still, she was the same person as always.

Just as she was about to ask the nurse what was wrong, there was a knock on the door.

"Come in." Maggie absently called. She turned to look at the door again. Her face grew into a wide grin.

"Dan!" She exclaimed. "Oh I wish I wasn't all covered with these tubes, I would give you the biggest hug ever!" When he didn't move from the door, She frowned. "Dan, What's wrong?"

He slowly made his way to her bedside. "How do you know my name?" He asked.

"Danny, do not aggravate her." Maggie warned as she made her exit.

"…What?" Her eyes grew wide; she didn't even notice the nurse leave. "Are you joking? Ha ha, not funny."

"It's.. odd." He said looking at the wide set of chocolate coloured eyes "You seem so familiar, but I can't quite place it."

It was then when it dawned to her. "Oh no. Ohhh no…" She pushed her fingers trough her hair and her shoulder slumped in defeat. "I'm not home, am I? I didn't make it right after all."

"Don't know." He shrugged. "But we need some information, lets start with a name."

"Corinne." She exhaled her name. "I work at the Anomaly Research Centre, with you and Claudia and Abigail and even Lester at some times.. Well not Lester that much, he mainly just stays out of our way. Ever since Cutter died anyway. And with that new detector, which I lost after the run. And with all the predators there it was just too hard for me to get back to the right anomaly so I just ran to the next one and I've been trying to get back.. but.. but.." She stopped, looking up at the man she knew, but who obviously had no knowledge of her. "What if I can't get home..?"

"Shhh, calm down." He patted her IV free hand in soothing manner. "It's ok, I'm sure Connor can figure out a way to help you. The kid's a genius in that field."

She shook her head. "I need to see the ADD, maybe I can figure out a pattern that will ultimately lead me to the right anomaly." She gazed at Danny. "Please?"

"Good luck with that, "Danny chuckled. "That boy is insanely jealous of that machine."

"What boy?"

"Conn, Conn Temple. The kid who invented it."

"But.. I invented the ADD." She stared at him, wide eyed. "And I'm Conn Temple."

..

TBC. Say what??


	3. Chapter 3

If you recognize it, I don't own it.

**Primeval – In Between**

Chapter 2.

"Talk." Lester commanded as he signed of the last of the document for the day.

"The DNA came back positive. Not an exact match of course since they are the opposite gender, but close enough for them to be twins." Danny answered.

"Temple doesn't have siblings." Lester commented.

"She came through the anomaly before we could get there, sir. And she spoke of the predators. I think there is a good chance she is what she claims to be." Becker offered his two pennies worth.

"And you are positive nothing else came through?" Lester eyed the two men in his office.

"Yes sir. No other findings at the site." The Special Ops Captain confirmed. They had followed the normal protocol, as always, but the boss of the facility had the habit of double checking everything himself.

"So. are we going to tell him?" Lester nodded towards the hall where the said person was still working on the Anomaly Detection Device.

"Dunno if it's a good idea, you never know what the kid's gonna come up with it." Danny mused. "But then again, I don't think we can keep it under for long."

"Well, it is your call, really." Lester scoffed, "I once thought that having two Cutters was bad, but at least one of them was just a clone with no real mind of its own. But two Connor Temples.."

"Corinne, actually." Danny shrugged. Lester shot a dark look at him.

"As said, two of those.. Kids.. Here. I do hope you didn't clear her out of the infirmary yet?"

"Of course not."

"Good man." Lester made clear he was done for the evening. As he made his exit the two men were left alone in his office. There was a moment of silence.

"So. Corinne you say?" Becker finally asked with a smirk.

..

Conn sat on the hospital bed.

She was worried and sick of waiting for someone, anyone, to come and tell her what the situation was.

It was the right year. The dates had been mixed a bit. Cutter was dead in this reality too, and Claudia was not Claudia but someone called Jenny. It was odd. And what made it even odd-er was that she was, get this, a he in this reality.

Well, she had sometimes wondered what she would have looked like if she'd been born a boy. Now it seemed she had the chance to find out. She hoped she.. he.. was at least cute if not handsome.

Being naturally a bit shy, made her think twice before she finally flung her legs of the bed and onto the cold floor. "Ah crap, Lester, you're cheapskate in this reality too." Her toes wriggled in disgust as the freezing tile floor made her shiver to the core.

"I really need shoes." She looked at the cabinet next to the bed, and as she opened it she found her clothes neatly folded inside. Even her light gray fedora was there, even though it looked like something had chewed on it a bit. "Great." She smiled as she popped the hat to her head, feeling instantly better, even thou the bandage on the back of her head made the hat stand in an odd angle.

Conn carefully removed the IV from her wrist and then, with quick look around, she pulled the hospital gown over her head. And at that moment she heard the door open behind her.

"Hey Maggie, I cut meself again, could you... Oh!"

Conn turned to face the door, clutching the hospital gown to her chest. At the door stood a furiously blushing young man, staring at her naked thighs. And then his eyes darted up to meet her equally shocked gaze. Conn stared, her brown eyes wide, as he stepped inside.

"Hi!" He said, his voice coming out in a squeak.

"Hi." She answered, and then came to her senses. "GET OUT!" Conn screamed with all her might. He made a hasty exit.

Hands trembling, Conn reached for her clothes. She pulled the now wondrously clean jeans and shirt on her with record time, keeping her eyes glued to the door. By the time she was buckling her belt the door opened ever so slightly again.

"Sorry." A hand covered with a fingerless glove waived apolitically. "I'm bleeding here; can I please come in and get a plaster?"

"Yeah, come on." Conn answered. "Sorry about the screaming."

The young man stepped inside the infirmary and took a cautious look around. "I didn't know there was someone here, should have knocked I guess." He said sheepishly as he rummaged trough the table with the bandages and disinfects.

"Do you need help?" She asked.

"I.. Yeah.. Could you peal this of me.. I really don't like blood, especially when it's coming out of meself." He held out his hand for her. The glove was soaked crimson and had a rip on the palm.

"Ow, what did you?"

"Cut meself with the stupid pliers. I don't know why those things have sharp edges anyway, it's not like you use them to cutting that much."

"I think it's because you can't really peal wires without the sharp edges, eh?." She smiled and she reached out for his hand.

A small arc of light connected their fingers before their skin made contact. Electricity sparked and she felt a tingle run up her arm. "Whoa!" They both exclaimed at the same time. "What the hell was that!" Again at the same time. "Stop saying what I'm saying!" Yet again at the same time.

Conn held her hand up. "Shush." She said. He closed his mouth. "That was just electricity. It happens sometimes, I get shocked all the time when I work with machines."

He nodded slowly. "Okay."

"Now, let me see that hand of yours." She smiled as she gently peeled the soaked fabric away. The cut wasn't as bad as she had thought, it wasn't deep, but it did run right across his palm. "I don't think you need stitches, which is good since I have no idea how to do them, but you have to wash this before I can bind it." And with that she pulled him with her to the nearby sink. She ran the water for a while before, with a grimace matching his, she pushed his palm under the cold water.

"Ow… He groaned, gripping the edge of the sink until his knuckles turned white.

"Sorry."

"Okay, it's clean." He hastily pulled his hand free and cursed under his breath. Conn could hear the strain in his voice, so she decided not to argue, even thought she could clearly see that he was lying.

"Okay." She said as she went back to get the disinfects and a bandage.

"Who are you anyway?" He asked as he sat down, leaning back and closing his eyes for a moment. His hand throbbed and he could feel a headache coming. Too much staring at the screens again, he inwardly mused.

"Corinne. You can call me Conn though, everybody does."

"I'm Connor."

There was a loud clatter. He opened his eyes and found her staring at him. The tray that had held the bandages lay on the floor next to her feet. "What?"

"Connor Temple?"

"Yeah. One and only." He smiled.

"Not anymore..."

..

TBC. Hmmm


	4. Chapter 4

If you recognize it, I don t own it.

_NOTE! This chapter has not been spell checked yet._

**Primeval In Between**

Chapter 3.

It hurt.

Connor tried not to watch what the woman was doing with his hand. She was gentle enough, but it still stung as she wrapped yet another layer of bandage to cover the gash on his palm.

There was something utterly unnerving about her that he couldn't quite place. Somehow it was like looking into a mirror, a gender bender mirror that is, but still. She wore the same style as him, even down to the hat and black jeans. He could swear he saw a necklace with a ring tugged inside her yellow button down shirt.

It was, without a better word for it, odd.

"I think that'll do." She grinned up to him triumphantly. "Just try not hit it anywhere yeah?"

"I.. Yeah."

"Are you working with the ADD, I heard Maggie say that there was some problem with it?"

"Just running some diagnostics." He answered before he could stop himself. "I shouldn't have said that. It's top secret ya know, the stuff I do."

"It's ok, I won't tell anyone." She winked. "So, what did it do?"

"Hmm? Oh ADD? No idea, just went black for a minute or so... I did it again, didn't I?" He sighed. "Do I know you from somewhere?"

"No." She shrugged. "Not in any way that makes sense anyway."

"Mm-hmm. I really should get back to work, lots to do, anomalies to see.. catch.. detect.." He rolled his eyes to himself, way to make an impression Connor. He ran his non-bandaged hand through his hair in annoyance.

"Yeah, I should probably get back to bed anyway. Before the night nurse comes in and ties me down." She grinned widely, flashing him a dimple on her left cheek. "They can be notoriously cruel, night nurses I mean."

"Well you do look like you've been in the wars."

Conn smiled as she climbed back to the bed. She flipped her hat to cover her eyes. "You have no idea how right you are." She yawned. "Good night."

"G'night." He answered, looking at her for a second. Then he shook his head, grinned and dimmed the lights before he left her slumber.

..

She woke up with a scream, being chased by a megopteran and falling down at the same time.

The scream was real, as was the fall, but luckily rest was just a dream.

Conn let out a strangled cry as she lay on the cold tile floor next to the hospital bed. She could hear commotion just outside the room, and then the door opened. A pair of black combat boots ran inside, or so it seemed in her still sleep hazed mind, but of course there was someone wearing them. A man crouched next to her and touched her shoulder.

"You ok miss?" He asked. Conn shut her eyes tightly, security, she thought. It's just the house security. "Miss?" He urged her and then she felt herself being lifted from the floor and placed back to the bed like she weighted nothing.

"Megopteran.. Stop it…" She mumbled. Tears run down her cheeks, but she couldn't have cared less.

"Shhh, it's ok, it's just a dream. The nurse is coming." He said, ever so gently pushing a stray lock of hair away from her forehead. Conn forced her eyes open and found herself staring at the tall, dark and handsome of every girls daydreams. "There you go. Corinne right?" He smiled taking her hand into his much larger one.

"Conn." She whispered. "It's Conn, I think.. Me head.. My IV.. I think I need it back now."

"How did you manage to get it undone in the first place?" The night nurse surprised them both. The man jumped, obviously a bit shaken to been taken by surprice. He backed away for a step, making room for the huffing woman.

"I kinda took it off." Conn grimaced at the face the nurse made.

"Should be smarter than that, you should." The nurse muttered as she pushed a new IV needle into Conns wrist. Before she could say cat, the IV was again dripping and she could feel the cool liquid enter her system. "You have a concussion so you stay in bed, if you need anything, you call, alright?"

Conn nodded eagerly. She mouthed 'Scary' at the tall, dark and handsomes way, making his eyes twinkle with laughter. "And you Captain, you should be doing what ever you soldiers do at night, not bothering the poor lass."

"I wasn't.. she screamed and I was just…! Hey wait!" He tried; he really did, but was still pushed out by the angry nurse. Somehow it seemed that being a foot taller and way heavier had no effect on the mother hen they had working at the infirmary. "I was helping!" He somehow managed to wave Conn goodbye.

"Out you go." The nurse pushed him out the door, and even gave him a small pat on the bum. Conn really had to stifle the giggles this time. The face he made was of utter dismay, and judging by the pink of his cheeks, he really was out of his league at the moment.

"Hmph." The nurse dusted her hands. "You need anything love?"

"No, I'm good, what time is it?" Conn settled herself into a more comfortable position.

"Almost half-five."

"Kinda early for him to wander in, innit?"

"That boy hasn't left the building since you were hauled in. He's the head of security, you know. I think they consider you being a very high priority ´guest´"

"I see."

"So you and the Temple kid, related?" The nurse fished out Conns chart at the end of the bed and made few marks. She looked up to her as the silence continued and found her patient gaping at her. "Oh please, you're a spitting image of him you are."

"Were related...Sort of." Conn admitted.

"Not as smart are you, taking the IV of, what were you thinking eh?"

"I wasn't." Conn admitted again.

"Well now, I was on me way to get me some tea. You want some?"

"Please, sugar, no milk?"

"Sure thing love."

..

Connor was baffled.

There was absolutely nothing wrong with the ADD. He had found nothing out of place, no odd commands, no viruses, nothing. Even all the wires where in the right places. No diictodon teeth marks this time.

He had no idea of what had caused the earlier shutdown.

Burying his head to his hands he thought hard, but still came up with nothing. With a groan of frustration he swept the table clean of papers. And then groaned again when he realized he would have to pick the papers back up.

"Not my night, is it..?" He muttered while banging his head slightly to the table. Just as he was about to get up again he heard a commotion just outside the main doors leading out from the hall. Curious, he got up an wandered closer to the doors.

"..I'm telling you I need to speak to him, right now!"

"You can't go in there miss." He heard the guard say. But if he was answered he didn't catch it. Connor made his way to the doors and poked them open ever so slightly. Conn stood there, arms folded, glaring angrily at the guard.

"Problems?" He asked the guard. Big man, burly even, one of Becker's finest.

"Miss is trying to come in, but she has no clearance." The guard answered.

"Connor, I really have to talk to you." She reached out for him, and by instinct he took a hold of her hand and pulled her to his side.

"Sir, I must insist.." The guard didn't look happy.

"Connor," Conn placed her hands on his cheeks and turned him to look at her, "Solar day variation." She said slowly, willing him to understand. He looked down at her, and she knew the nanosecond when it hit him.

"It's ok, I know her, sorta.." Connor shrugged. Conn shot the guard a smug grin and bowed a bit as she walked below Connors arm that was holding the door open.

"Sir?" The guard asked.

"It's ok, she's just a girl." Connor shrugged his shoulders as he closed the door behind him.

"Yeah right.." The guard scoffed sarcasm evident in his voice.

..

TBC. She really has issues when it comes in staying bed, doesn't she. I mean, when I had a concussion, I really just wanted to lay down and bury me head inside the pillow.. Oh well...


	5. Chapter 5

If you recognize it, I don't own it.

**Primeval – In Between**

Chapter 4.

Conn had to explain her theory to Connor as fast as she could. She knew she didn't have much time left before the security would notice she has vanished from the infirmary, as it was, they probably were already looking for her. Only a matter of time when Captain something something would come barging through the doors and drag her out oh the hall.

Her idea wasn't all that complicated really, just a bit raw still. "So this is what I thought. The solar day length varies, right? So what if an anomaly opens in the present to the present, but with a difference of a fraction of a second. Could that fraction be enough time to change from one evolutionary timeline to another? If that is possible, could it also mean that there was countless other timelines, side by side, exiting and crossing over each other in an endless maze of history. That might explain not only why you have encountered species that no one has ever seen before, but also why the creatures are from all around the globe. Time differs, as does the axis of the Earth itself." She looked at him expectantly. "I know it sounds a bit far fetched, but what do you think?"

Her head was throbbing by the time he cleared his throat. "That was.. Brilliant. I can't believe I didn't think about that before."

"Yeah well, you haven't seen half the stuff I have." She shrugged. "You can learn a lot if you get stuck to the wrong side of time. If you survive that is."

"How long where you lost?"

"Almost three months. And mind you, I went through several anomalies. Actually almost all of them I could find. But as it seems, never got to the right one." She turned her head slightly and smiled sadly. "It's like a Rubik's cube, you need to find the right route or you'll never get back to where you started. And you know, somehow it's always so similar, but all different. I think I'll call it the Claudia Brown effect from now on."

"You alright?"

"Nope. Head hurts." She answered truthfully.

"Come on. Let's get you back to bed then." He held out a hand for her.

"Yep."

As he helped her up the doors flew open with a loud bang and a very pissed off looking head of ARC's security stormed in. Conn winced at the dark glare he shot in her direction. Guessing what was coming she sat back down and buried her head to her hands.

"Shit." She muttered under her breath.

"Care to explain why I have been running around the past 30 minutes like a headless hen looking for you miss Temple?" The silent, composed voice was very misleading. Conn glanced at Connor and saw him flinch. Oh boy, this was going to get so much worse before it got better.

"Sorry." She whispered as she pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Hey man, it's not her fau... Temple? What do you mean Temple?" Connor frowned.

"It's just a different evolutionary timeline thing." Conn said as it would explain everything. And in a way it actually did. It just took some time for the information to sink in.

"Are we related?" Connor asked.

"Sort of." Two set of nearly identical chocolate brown eyes locked, one set held the look of confusion while the others were slightly apologetic.

"Oh." Connor frowned. Then it dawned to him. "Wait what?!"

She nodded.

"But.. But.." Connor slumped down to the chair next to hers. "You're a girl!" He exclaimed, seeming more confused by her gender than the fact that she was actually sitting there.

"Good to see I'm still observant even though I grew a pair in this timeline." Conn grinned tiredly at the face he made. Teasing one self had the perks of knowing just how to hit the mark. She might have taken it further if the Captain hadn't been there, rolling his dark hazel eyes to the ceiling.

"Lovely family reunion, but you," the tall dark and handsome pointed a finger at Conn, "Should be in bed and you," he glared at Connor, "Shouldn't have let her in here in the first place. What were you thinking? You didn't even know her name!"

"But I saw her earlier. She helped me with this." Connor shrugged, waiving his bandage covered hand at the other man. "What's the problem here? It's not like anything happened!"

"You deliberately escorted an unknown civilian to the same room with the ADD." The captain reminded. "This place has been bombed, burned, crashed and God knows what. People have died in here. And you didn't stop for a second to think. She could have been working for Helen!"

"Stop blaming him for what I did." Conn slashed out before Connor had the chance to defend himself. "I had an idea and I needed someone with enough brains to listen to it before I lost it. Since Cutter is dead and I don't know any of the other scientists at the ARC in this reality, I had to come here. I had to talk to someone!" Conn's lower lip trembled. "I.. I had to talk. No one has told me anything!"

She finally stood up and walked in front of the man in black. "So. Stop. Blaming. Him." With every word she poked her index finger to his chest and with the last word he caught her hand, pressing her palm flat against the slick fabric of his tee. "I'm really, really, tired. So, can I go back to bed now?" Without even thinking she leaned her forehead next to her hand. "Please?" For a second her eyes fluttered close, but then she felt the captain tense up and shook her head slightly.

She looked back at Connor. "I promise, I will explain this as soon as I get some rest."

"No hurry." He offered her a small smile, so very much like her own. "It's a Claudia Brown effect, innit?"

She chuckled, not entirely sure if he knew why she had chosen that name, but she was too tired to care at the moment. "Yep. So it seems." She pulled her hand free and started towards the door. "Well tall, dark and handsome. You going to escort me back or do I have to wander around some more?"

..

As soon as they got out from the hall Conns shoulders slumped. There was really no fight left in her and she was all content on zombieing back to the infirmary and to the bed. She knew it had been a bad idea to leave in the first place, but the theory had struck her she hadn't really thought that much of her condition. Story of her life really, do and then think, and then repair the damages.

The man in black grabbed her by the shoulder and turned her to face him. The fact that she had to look up to see his face annoyed her. And made her head spin even more. "If you won't stay in the bed, I will personally handcuff you there." He growled under his breath. She managed to giggle girlishly as the pink rouse to his cheeks as he realised how it must have sounded.

"That sounds interesting, but I think I shall pass. For now." Her eyes twinkled with amusement. "Oh man, you know you don't even exist in my timeline. I think there's a good reason for it."

"Mm-hmm?"

"You would follow me everywhere and stop me doing stupid things." She flashed him a dimpled smile, and even though tired, the smile was honest. "Nothing would ever get done."

"Just the concussion talking." He chuckled, letting go of her. "Come on."

"Yeah." She yawned. "What's your name anyway? I can't go around calling you tall, dark and handsome, someone might get the wrong idea."

"Becker."

"Becker? You're the one who had me gunpoint earlier." Her brow furrowed as she glared at him. "You could have shot me!"

"Yeah, I could have. Don't know if it was a good thing that I didn't."

"Why you... You.." She stopped dead her tracks and clutched her temples. "Ow."

"You alright?"

"No." Her vision blurred. She reached out for the wall for support.

He sighed. "Come on." And wrapped his arm around her shoulders. His other arm reached down under her knees.

"What are you doing?"

"What does it look like? We're never going to get anywhere at this rate." He answered as he lifted her up. "But next time you pull a stunt like this, you're walking."

"Oh." She gave up and rested her aching head to the juncture where his neck met his shoulder. It wasn't that bad, really. If her head hadn't felt like a balloon about to burst, she might have even enjoyed being carried around by him. "You know, you smell really nice." She murmured sleepily.

"Yeah?" He just rolled his eyes.

"Yeah. Warm, cosy." She inhaled deeply. "Safe."

"Concussion talking again, you really are out of it aren't you?" He chuckled.

"Yep." She closed her eyes and relaxed.

The strong, steady heartbeat lulled her into sleep. Her last coherent thought was that maybe being astray in the wrong reality wasn't so bad after all.

...

TBC. I don't know if I like this chapter or not.. I might have to think this over and change it later. What do you think?


	6. Chapter 6

If you recognize it, I don't own it.

NOTE! This chapter has not been spell checked.

**Primeval – In Between**

Chapter 5.

It had been a busy week.

First the deadly fungus that killed Sir Richard Bentley and ultimately caused Jenny Lewis to quit. What a PR nightmare that still was. Then the difficulties with Christine Johnson and her militant crew. And finally the culmination of the week; the appearance of the Temple "twin".

Oh yes, It had been a busy week for Sir James Lester.

As he now sat behind his desk, waiting for the ARCs core team to arrive at work he pondered how was he ever to explain this new mess to the minister. He had a pretty good plan. He planned not to tell anything at all.

Oh he had to let the core team know, as well as the nursing staff, but he indented to keep the existence of the one Corinne Temple a secret otherwise.

There was a knock on his door and his secretary poked her head in. "They're here sir." She informed him.

"Let them in."

Of course most of the Team already knew of her. The girl seemed to be a slippery one. She had managed to get past a rather tight security inside the building. All the way to the main hall. He had to give her some credit for that. He just hoped she would never do it again.

One can always hope. Lester mused as the unruly mob that nowadays worked for him walked inside the small quarters. The men of the team seemed not that surprised that they had been called. But then again, it didn't take a rocket scientist to know what the meeting was about. The women of the team seemed a bit more curious.

"Ah well, as you all know we had a security breach yesterday. And the culprit is in custody. We have identified the person as Connor Temple."

"..What?" Connor gawked, earning a glare from his boss. "It wasn't me! It was Conn!"

"Well you are basically the same person." Danny smirked.

"No we're not! We just happen to share the same DNA.. And umm.."

"Genetic problems aside, we have a more urgent issues here." Lester raised his hands to quiet the room. "No one can know the identity of our 'guest'. Since she IS so much like you though, "He waived his hand nonchalantly towards Connor, "She could pass as a cousin or some sort of relative of yours."

"We're keeping her here? At the ARC?" Becker asked. "Sir she could pose a threat.."

"Oh dear and here I was, going to offer her a job and a government pension." Lester crossed his arms over his chest. "What do you suggest I do with her, throw her to the next opening anomaly and good riddance, problem gone? Why, that's very cold of you Captain."

"Hold on." Abby chimed in. "Are you saying we have a person from another dimension locked up here?"

"Timeline, Abby." Connor corrected her.

"Yep Abby. We indeed have. It seems that our dear Connor here is in fact a little girl." Danny said in serious tones, but failed at the end and snickered at the face the said dear Connor made.

"Ok everybody." Connor stood up blushing furiously to the tip of his ears. "I'm am not a girl, just because evolution took a different course in her timeline doesn't make me any.."

"Yes yes, sit down before you hurt yourself." Lester shook his head. "The bottom line is that you are not to talk about the real identity of our 'guest' until further notice. She is to be held locked up and guarded at every second of the day. If one must talk about her you will refer her as Temple's cousin." He took a calming breath. "Questions?"

"Can we see her?" It was the first time Sarah spoke up. The anthropological part of her mind was buzzing of all the possibilities this opportunity presented.

"Does it matter if I say no?" Lester sighed.

"No. Not really."

"Then fine. Now get out, some of us have actually work to do." As the team turned to leave he called out for Sarah.

"Hmm?" The dark Egyptologist quirked her eyebrow.

"She'll need some clothes and.. female things. Take the company Visa and go shopping. Take Miss Maitland with you." Had Lester looked up as he would have seen a very, very, shocked employee staring down at him.

"Anything else?" She managed to ask.

"No, that is all."

..

After getting over the initial shock their boss had caused, the two women happily obliged and left the ARC to do something they so rarely got to do these days. It was therapeutic, to see and do things normal women of their age did. And it felt good.

They had gotten Corinne's size from Maggie. And now they were enjoying well earned lattes at the Westfield. Full bags of clothes and accessories lay under the table.

"I can't believe we spent that much.." Abby snorted. "Lester's gonna have a heart attack!"

"Well, he didn't specify any numbers. And we did only buy the necessary stuff." Sarah shrugged. "Besides, if he had sent the boys, it would have cost even more. They would have bought everything at that lingerie shop just to please the salesgirls."

"Truenuff."

"So let's just enjoy these, and then think about our dear boss and the ARCs financial attributes."

"I'll drink for that." Abby grinned. Her mobile rang off and she pulled it out from her pocket. "Hi Con! Yeah we're almost done. She is? Great, see you in twenty or so." Abby flipped the phone shut. "Our guest is awake. Shall we go see her?"

Sarah drank the last of the latte and nodded. They gathered the bags and left the café.

..

Conn was indeed awake.

And rather uncomfortable.

She stared at the guard in the room, and the guard stared back. The man was even larger than the one that had let her to the main hall last night. Clad in all black and holding a combat shotgun, he was indeed very intimidating. But after meeting a Eustreptospondylus up close and personal, Conn really wasn't that easy to intimidate anymore.

"Honestly, what do you think I am? A smilodon?" She shook her head.

"Just following orders miss." The man replied.

"And those are..? Thou shall not blink?"

The man chuckled. "No miss."

"Ah. So don't let me out of your sight would be more correct eh?"

"Yep."

"Talkative, aren't you?"

"Sometimes." He shrugged his wide shoulders. It seemed he was about to add something when the door opened and a very annoyed looking Sir James Lester walked in.

"Out." He barked at the guard and then turned to face Conn.

"Lester." She nodded a hello. "What took you so long?"

"It's called work. I'm sure you have heard the word at some point of you life."

"Mm-Hmm. I see you're still the same as always."

"I truly hope so. Now, this little problem you being here poses. I have a suggestion on how to handle it, for the time being."

"Does it include feeding me to a G-Rex?"

"Why does everyone suggest that..?" Lester frowned. "And no, I am going to offer you a job until further notice. And an identity is being prepared for you to use when dealing with people outside the core team."

"Very efficient of you Lester. And the catch is?"

"You can't leave the premises, and you will have a guard by your side 24/7. This is non-negotiable."

"I see. Where will I live?"

"I will have one of the empty offices turned into a living quarters for the time being."

"Office? That's your plan?" Conn snorted sarcastically. "Honestly now?"

"Well, I can always throw you into the next anomaly that opens. It really doesn't matter to me that much."

"Ah." Conn nodded. "I see your point."

"I have asked Miss Maitland and Doctor Page to deliver you some necessities, clothes and such."

"Thank you."

"That would be all. The core team knows who you are, and you are allowed to assist them anyway you can."

"But I can't leave the ARC?"

"No."

"Fair enough. For now." Conn slipped of the bed. "Can I go see what Connor is doing?"

"Do as you wish, just stay out of trouble."

"Of course I will."

"Now there's a lie I have heard before."

Conn only smirked.

..

TCB. And here we go.


	7. Chapter 7

If you recognize it, I don't own it.

**Primeval – In Between**

Chapter 6.

As he gazed down from his office to the main hall of the ARC, he saw the two dark haired scientists fast at work. The girl was truly extraordinary. The theory she had come up with was something none of their researchers had thought was not even possible. But there she was; the living example of life's funny twists.

Lester had of course offered her an arrangement. Work for the ARC and he wouldn't mind if she used the ARCs recourses as tried to get home the same time. But he had banned her from the anomaly sites, until further notice. Something she had protested rather loudly. But he couldn't have her running free around London. This way he could keep an eye on her, and he got a valuable asset to his crew.

He had given her an identity. She was now Connor Temple's cousin. Only those of the inner circle knew who she truly was. And even they sometimes doubted if it was true.

If only she had at some point in life learnt how to behave. And clean up after herself.

He had been the unlucky one to find out what it meant to have a messy 27 year old woman, that seemed to have no self-preservation what so ever, living in an office building. The clothes Sarah and Abby had brought her were skittered all around, she left her used teacups everywhere, and she was regularly seen in her bathrobe in the main hall. It was really very uncomfortable.

He had to think of a better solution, and he had to do it fast.

..

The short hair on Conn's neck stood up. A second later the ADD blared into life.

She and Connor both scrambled up, almost hitting their heads together while doing so. Conn jumped to the chair in front of the machine and was typing before Connor had the time to pull another chair for himself.

"That's my job you know." He stated, quirking his eyebrow as her fingers flew on the keyboard.

"I type faster than you." She winked back at him.

"True." He admitted as he watched her type in the commands.

"It's outside London." She said as the ADD did a search. She turned to look at the people gathering around her. "There's something odd about this.." She murmured. The anomaly seemed to be splitting on two.

"Connor, look." She whispered.

"That's several kilometres of difference."

"We'll need two teams." They both said in unison. Slowly they turned to look each other and then upstairs where Lester was leaning onto the railing.

"No." Their boss said. "Absolutely not. You are not going out."

"Please?" Conn pleaded and stood up. "I'll stay back, unless they need me. I won't even ask for a gun." She offered. Being locked up inside had seemed like an ok idea, but when she was denied any access outside, the ARC had turned from solace to a prison.

"Come on Lester." Danny said. "Give the girl a chance."

"No." And with that he walked back to his office.

"Sorry Conn." Connor patted her shoulder. "Next time, yeah?"

"Yeah." She sunk back to the chair.

..

Conn was frustrated.

She had tried to do some work with the ADD while waiting for the team to return, but her attention was diverted every time the doors to the main hall opened. Finally she had given up, and while followed by the guard she had made her way to the lounge. After playing few rounds with the PS3 she had thrown the controller away in annoyance. Nothing was working. She felt like the walls were closing in on her.

Conn finally decided to go and have a nap. God knows the last time she had had the opportunity to sleep without the fear of being eaten. The guard followed her like a bloodhound. 4 metres behind her and he seldom spoke a word.

As she got to her office/flat she kicked the bin next to the desk. The papers and other rubbish scattered all over the floor. Conn sighed and gave up, cleaning the mess she made. She eyed the closed door, trying to think of a way to somehow get past the guard she knew was waiting on the hallway.

How was she ever to find the right anomaly if Lester wouldn't even let her leave the building? It didn't quite make sense to her. Conn shook her head.

The intercom buzzed and she pushed the button. "What?" She asked tiredly.

"We have a souvenir at the loading platform 3." Said an oddly metallic voice of one of the researchers.

"I'll be right there."

..

"That's a Dracorex hogwartsia! Did the anomaly open to the Cretaceous?" The transport crew turned to look at Conn, who was making her way to the garage, followed by the guard whom Conn had just dubbed as Trusty. "I love these guys!" She squealed as she reached out to pet the beasts horned head.

One of the security personnel grabbed her by the wrist before she could touch the animal. "It's sedated." He said plainly. "We need to get it in before it wakes up."

"Pish tosh. It's not a dangerous species." Conn grinned. Then she noticed the blood on the shoulder of the animal. "Oh no, what happened to it? Are those stitches?"

"The creature was injured and could not be returned. Miss Maitland treaded it on the site." Said one of the vets that had been called upon the animals arrival.

"Oh poor thing... I think there's an empty enclosure next to the mammoth. Can you bring it there? I would like to observe it when it wakes up."

"Of course miss Temple." Said the vet.

"Cheers." Conn turned to leave. "Come on Trusty." She whistled and smiled for the first time in hours.

..

Connor was happy. Very very very happy.

With Becker's help he had gotten Rex back from the bloke Jack had lost him to in a game of poker. He had returned the Coelurosauravus to Abby's flat and now he and Becker were making their way back to the ARC. He was pretty sure Becker knew where he was living, but luckily he had not asked any questions about it.

As they drove up the hill and into the car park, Connor nearly drifted of to sleep. It had been a long day, and he knew he still had to drive all the way to Lester's city apartment. And even though he knew his sleeping arrangemetns were not the most comfortable in the world, all he really wanted to do was collapse to the thing he at the moment called bed.

Becker parked the car and got out with Connor following him.

"I'm gonna call it for tonight. Gonna do the paperwork in the morning." Connor yawned and waived his hand to the head of security.

Becker nodded and walked to the opposite direction to get the nightshift papers from the guard at the lobby. Even though he really didn't have to do it, being the head of security, he wanted to. It was a new crew, and he still didn't know half the personnel.

"Mighty fine lil' lizard they brought in today." The guard said as he handed Becker the papers. "Scary looking thingy, but the Temple girl was fussing around it like it was her baby. Odd lot those scientists eh?"

"Yep, they sure are." Becker muttered in response. So Corinne had taken an interest on the dragon. He wasn't all that surprised. If she indeed was the female counterpart of Connor Temple, the dinogeek, it would have been odd if she hadn't been exited by the creatures.

Without thinking about it further he made his way through the quiet halls of the ARC and into the animal closures. He spotted the guard, whom he had given the assignment of keeping an eye on Corinne, standing next to a large closed door. He frowned at this. Had she gone in the closure alone? With the dragon?

"Hiya boss. She's inside." The guard nodded at the door. "Told me to stay out, so the lizard wouldn't be scared."

"Right." Becker pinched the bridge of his nose. That did indeed sound like something the dinosaur enthusiasts would say. "Ok, you can go, I'll take it from here until the morning shift come in."

"Sure. She's all yours." The big man grinned widely.

Becker just rolled his eyes as he opened the door and stepped inside the dim lit, eerily quiet room.

..

TBC. Oh noes, has she been eaten or mauled.. or sleeping? We'll see. ;)


	8. Chapter 8

If you recognize it, I don't own it.

NOTE! This chapter has not been spell checked.

**Primeval – In Between**

Chapter 7.

The dracorex was standing in the middle of the enclosure and feasting on what seemed to be a watermelon. The still form of Corinne Temple lay next to its scaly feet. Becker froze to the sight. Was she hurt? The straws rustled as he made his way closer, trying not to startle the beast so it wouldn't accidentally step on her.

"I told you to stay out." He heard her whisper. She didn't seem to be hurt after all. He let out the breath he hadn't even noticed he had been holding.

"And I told Larry not to let you out of his sight." He whispered back.

Conn's head popped up from the straw covered floor as she turned abruptly. The dracorex let out a small, startled chitter and took few nervous steps back. Conn cooed the animal gently, speaking in hushed tones until it calmed down and went back to nibbling the melon.

"Where's Trusty?" She asked.

"Who?"

"The big guy who's been following me all day."

"Send him home. He has a wife and twins so I figured he might want to spend some time with them too." He shrugged holding out a hand to help her up. "So what do you think of the dragon?"

Conns eyes lit up. Her mouth curved into a wide grin and a dimple appeared on her left cheek. "It's awesome! The most beautiful thing I've seen in ages. Kinda reminds me of a huge, scaly goat. And look, it's tame.. Well tame-ish. It scares pretty easily, but if you're just calm and non-threatening you can just walk up to it and pet it." She nearly squealed the last part. "I gave it the melon and it's been nibbling on it and letting me check the wound and all, Abby did a great job on the stitches by the way." She stopped to take a breath and he held his hands up to stop the rambling.

"Ok, I get it, you're exited."

"Hell yeah! It's a dracorex!" She laughed sheepishly as she dusted her jeans. And then did something he sure wasn't expecting. She hugged him, wrapping her arms around his waist.

"I.. Ok." It was awkward for him, since in the back of his mind, the reasonable part of his brain was telling him that the person that was hugging him was Connor Temple. A very short and soft Connor Temple. He could feel her small hands press more firmly against the muscles on his back as she buried her head to his chest.

"Thanks for not shooting it. The transport crew said you could have easily just killed it, had Abigail asked you not to."

For the first time in the history of hugs he'd received he really didn't know where to put his hands.

"Becker?"

"What?"

"Why do you smell like strawberries?"

"I.. what?" He bent his head down a bit and smelled his tee. It did smell like strawberries. "Oh, uhh.. Your 'pet' there chased me and Abby through a greenhouse, and I fell through some crates full of strawberries."

"Mm-hmm, well not to alarm you or anything, but I think it can smell it too."

He looked up to see the dragon looking straight at him. It chittered, turning its horned head slightly to the side and sniffing the air. Conn turned so that they were both facing the creature. It took a tentative step towards them and chittered again, bobbing its head up and down.

"It sounds like a bird of some sort." He commented.

"Yeah, it does, doesn't it? Stay calm." Conn smiled. "I think it's going to sniff you out." She held her hands out, becoming the creature closer. "Come on baby, he's no danger to you, you're too valuable to kill now."

Somehow the knowledge that the thing was a herbivore wasn't all that convincing when it bowed its horned head towards his abdomen. One sharp push and he would end up being a pincushion. It sniffed him thoroughly, and after a moment it scoffed in what seemed like disappointment. Then it turned and went back to its melon.

"I think it likes you." Conn snorted.

He just rolled his eyes, but his mouth twitched lightly at the corners.

"I think I'll call it Strawberry, what do you think?"

"I think I'm going to get a cup of coffee."

..

It was a quiet night.

When the dracorex had finished the melon, it pushed the straws around for a while until they formed a small nest-like spot. With a final chitter it laid down, put it's head between it front claws and promptly fell asleep. What a trusting animal you are, Conn smiled as she gently stroked the creature's spiky neck.

"Must have been a tiring day to you too." Conn muttered and stretched. The joints on her back popped back to place making her groan. At this rate I'll need to consult a physiotherapist soon, she thought. Having used to sleep in odd and usually hard places, the bed she had in her office/flat was almost too soft.

As she exited the enclosure she found Becker sipping his third cup of coffee.

"Why didn't you come back in? I thought I was supposed to be supervised at all times." She yawned then scratched the back of her head. The stitches were itching. She was supposed to get rid of them in the morning and she was really waiting to wash her hair with shampoo again.

"Didn't want to agitate.. Strawberry." He shrugged his shoulders.

Conn smiled. "Well, Strawberry is a sleep now. So, you can either walk me to my flat or go get some rest yourself."

"I have to walk you, you know."

"Yeah, I know." She sighed. "You don't trust me much, do you?"

"No, not really."

"Mm-hmm."

"It's nothing personal."

"I know." She glanced at him. "Do me a favour Becker?"

"Depends on the favour?"

She pointed the back of her head. "Can you take these stitches out of me head? Because they're really itchy."

He leaned in to take a closer look. "Yeah sure, why not."

..

It didn't take them long to get to the infirmary, where she sat on a chair while he snipped the stitches away. She flinched few times when he accidentally pulled her hair.

"Ow, be careful will ya.." She muttered under her breath as he pulled few hairs with a stitch that had gotten clotted in.

"You alright?" He asked.

"It pinched."

"There's only few left."

"Great."

"You know I once had seventeen metal stitches on my ankle. Removing those was a pain in the arse." He smiled at the face she made.

"Yeah yeah, I'm such a baby, so sue me." Conn scoffed.

"I think that's all of them." He finally said. "It looks to have closed up well, though I'm not a doctor or anything. You should probably show it to Maggie in the morning."

"Mm-Hmm." She stood up as he removed the surgical gloves he had been wearing. Conn poked the new scar with her index finger and made a face of disgust at the feel of her hair around it. "I really need a shower."

"Well you'll have to wait until Carmen get's to work, since I for sure am not going to follow you there." He smirked.

"Oh come on Becker, it's been eons since I last had shampoo available." She tried to give him the good old puppy dog eyes. "Besides, you don't have to come with me, you can stay at the gym's dressing room."

"Can't, Connor lives there."

"Huh? Why?"

"I haven't asked about it yet."

Conn shook her head. "I'm not sure I even want to know."

"Yeah. Come on, I'll take you to your flat and get out before the next catastrophe strikes."

"Oh come on.." She whined pathetically. "Please?"

He grimaced. "I'm so going to regret this, aren't I?"

"Yes! Thank you. Thank you!" Her grin went from ear to ear. "I'll just grab a towel and the shampoo and.. Well I'll just make a quick run to me flat. A sec. Maybe two. Oh I could kiss you!"

"I still have to follow you, you know?"

"Yeah, I know."

...

TBC.

We'll see. ;)


	9. Chapter 9

If you recognize it, I don't own it.

**Primeval – In Between**

Chapter 8.

Shampoo.

The stuff of Gods.

At least when you hadn't had an access to the stuff in the last three months.

Conn lathered nearly half a bottle the sweet smelling liquid to her hair. Rinsing out all the blood and grime that had gotten attached to her strands and scalp. The bubbles turned rusty red and then grey as she washed the shampoo off.

Her hair came down her shoulders when wet. She pulled the strands down in deep thought. She would definitely need a haircut, and fast.

As the water turned clear again she finally turned it off.

..

Becker stayed at the dressing room. Surprisingly Connor was nowhere to be seen. Maybe the genius had found a better place to crash. Still, he hoped Corinne was true to her word and would just take a quick shower, but as far as his experience with women went, hot water and beauty products caused them to forget the time. And pretty much everything else in the surrounding world.

He leaned his back to the lockers and checked his watch. Seventeen minutes. He really should had not let her persuade him to letting her to the shower. How she had actually done it escaped his mind.

Connor was never this difficult.

But Connor was a bloke.

Corinne was.. Well, she was a girl.

"Becker?" He heard her call his name at the door.

"What?" He asked.

"I'm going to come in there to dress, turn around."

"What? No, you're not coming in here. Dress in there."

"It's wet in here!" She complained.

"Don't care. You're not coming in here naked. Just.. Wear your bathrobe."

"I didn't bring it."

"What? Why not?"

"I forgot ok?" There was a moment of silence. "You're being ridiculous."

It really was very late, or early, depending on how one looked at it. And he was tired. Becker sighed. "I knew this was a bad idea. Come on then, but quickly."

"Turn around."

"You ain't got anything I haven't seen before."

"This is not a spectator sport."

He smirked, but complied and turned away from the door. He heard the door open and close and the soft rustle of clothes as she dressed up. At least she was fast at that.

"Did you know that if you add up the numbers from one to one hundred consecutively, you will get the total of 5050?" She suddenly whispered right behind him.

"What?" He blinked.

"Think about it." She grinned and walked past him and out of the dressing room.

"…I'd rather not." He shook his head and followed her.

..

In the end she only managed to sleep for an hour and a half before the sharp knock on her door woke her up. Conn groaned and pushed her head under the pillow. Who ever was behind the door was persistent. The knocking got louder.

"Mmyeaah?" Conn finally gave up and sat up.

"Miss Temple, we have an alert." It was one of the computer techs. A female guard stood right behind him. That must be Carmen, Conn thought.

"Oh. Ok. Give me a minute." Conn jumped up and hastily pulled her new black jeans and a bright red tee on. She grabbed her sneakers with one hand and the half eaten chocolate bar with the other, and then she was running behind the tech with the guard tailing them.

As they arrived to the main hall the core team was already there. All but Abby that was. Conn sat to a chair next to Danny and pulled her sneakers on while she quickly munched the chocolate down.

"Where is it?" Danny asked Connor whom was taking the readings from the ADD.

"Outside London again."

"You have it?"

"Yep."

"Ok, grab your gear people."

"Wait, where's Abby?"

"Here I am." The petite blond came running in to the hall." Sorry, my brother is an ass. Where are we going?" She asked.

"Looks to be a race testing track."

"Cool. Can I come?" Conn asked hopefully.

They all turned to look upstairs. Lester was there. He shook his head, making Conn groan in disappointment. She banged her head to the table. Danny and Connor gave her comforting pats on the shoulder as they walked by her.

..

When they got back Conn practically jumped at Connor. "Well?"

"Some kind of carnivorous giant bug. We sealed the anomaly for now." He answered. "Ask Abby if you want to see what's left of the thing."

"Giant bug? That's got to be a megaopteran." Her eyes grew wide. "It's a future anomaly. This is it. The anomaly I have been waiting. I have to find Lester."

"Whoa wait? A what?" He stopped her. His analytical mind had picked up only the name of the creature and the fact that she actually had a name for it.

"A megaopteran. It's uhh.. I think it evolved out of beetles."

"Beetles? How do you figure?"

"Statistics. You know there are more than 300,000 species of beetles, making them the largest order of insects in the world, right?"

"Yeah, but.."

"Could be ants too.." Conn shrugged her shoulders. "Hold on, you haven't seen them before?"

"Nope."

"Oh. Well then we have a lot to talk about."

"Yeah and I actually need your help with this laser refractor I'm building for the future artefact..." They trailed of, the anomaly and the megaopteran forgotten. For now.

..

They worked on the mechanical arm together. Conn burned her fingers and Connor lost a part of his fringe to the small fire he caused. But at the end of the morning the gadget was ready and operational.

They high fived. And then called for Danny and Sarah to see what they had made.

For some reason the ex-cop and the Egyptologist found the refractor rather anticlimactic. Conn shrugged at Connor when he glanced at her sadly, as to say, never mind, they just don't understand what the deal here is.

He gave up trying to explain it.

Conn remembered the megaopteran and asked Connor if they could go see what Abby had figured out about the creature.

It ended up being educational hour when it came to the life of giant bugs of the future. Conn shared what she knew, which wasn't much, but still gave them some insight on what they were dealing with. Abby had found out how the things reproduced. The ovipositor of the bug made them all cringe.

Conn's guard made a hasty exit when she accidentally tipped over a jar of foul smelling goo onto her combat boots.

"Hold on, are you saying these things are from the future?" Danny suddenly asked.

"Well yes, like four times already." Conn snorted. "Haven't you been listening at all?"

Danny ignored her. "So the future is just behind the anomaly?"

"Are you a bit slow today Dan? Yes, the future is on the other side of the anomaly." Conn rolled her eyes. Danny was suddenly full of energy. He jumped up and pushed Sarah in front of him towards the door.

"You finish up here, and give Becker's men a call, tell them we're on our way!" He yelled over his shoulder.

"Wait, I'm coming too." Conn got up and followed them.

"What about..?" Sarah nodded towards Lester's office.

"Oh screw him." Conn scoffed.

Danny grinned. "Let's go."

…

TBC. There shall be action in the next chapter.


	10. Chapter 10

If you recognize it, I don't own it.

Primeval – In Between

Chapter 9.

They got as far as the car park before they were stopped. Carmen was there, leaning to the truck. She gave the trio a stern, not to be fooled with, look. And then the guard promptly ushered Conn back inside the ARC.

Danny and Sarah shared a look, shook their heads and drove off. There was nothing they could do for the dark haired scientist. Lester would throw a fit no matter what they said.

"Oh come on. It's a future anomaly. I'm an expert on those." Conn complained all the way back to the main hall. "It could be my one chance to get to the right anomaly to take me home again. You have to take me there."

"You don't have the clearance." The guard shrugged and pushed her up the ramp towards Lester's office.

"Oh be fair.." Conn sighed as she was seated down in front of Lester's desk. "He's not even here you know. He would never know."

"Know what?"

"Oh hi Lester." Conn squeaked.

"Hmm hi." Lester sat down to his chair. "Why are you here?"

"Well I.. You know, there's an anomaly, that goes to the future.. And well I don't know if it goes to the right one.. But then I though.." She was stopped by a well manicured hand.

"Why is she here?" Lester asked the guard.

"She tried to leave the premises sir."

"Well yeah, haven't you listened to me at all? It's a future anomaly!"

"Yes, you do know that on the contrary to the popular belief I am not deaf? You people just so rarely say anything even remotely understandable, or interesting."

"Look, I thought I could go and find the anomaly that originally brought me to the future where from I ventured into this timeline, so I could go back to the cretaceous and locate the anomaly that could take me back to the cascade, so I can.." Again she was stopped by the hand.

"Stop." He said.

"But…"

"Just go."

"Huh?" Conn stared at the man eyes wide.

"They might actually benefit from your experience. From what I hear they have a civilian unaccounted anyway. You can't do much more harm than what's already been done."

"Lester.."

"Don't make me repeat myself." He waved his hand nonchalantly towards the door. "Go, before I chance my mind."

Conn jumped up from the chair and hugged him across the table. She even gave him a peck on the cheek. "Thank you!" And then like a whirlwind she was gone, with the guard following her. Lester scoffed and readjusted his tie. And then went back to his work.

..

"I need to go by the armoury. I need a 9mm pistol and a powerful short range weapon, shotgun or something a like. And something else too." Conn said to the guard as they ran to her office/flat. She grabbed her hat and jacket. She flung her new bag to her shoulder and stuffed the remaining two chocolate bars into it.

"I'm not sure Lester actually gave you the permission.."

"Look, you saw the bug right?"

"Yes miss."

"There are worst things than megaopterans in the future."

"But.."

"You can keep them until we get to the anomaly. I won't touch them before we get there, ok?"

"Fine." The guard sighed. "Let's go then."

The two women hurried to the armoury. Conn wasn't really listening what Carmen asked the bloke over the counter to bring them. But the black bag she got seemed heavy.

"Did you get it?"

Carmen showed her the black orb she had neatly tugged inside the bag.

"Great!"

She wouldn't let her touch the bag though, not did she let her drive the car. But nevertheless, within 5 minutes, they were on their way.

…

Carmen was a good driver. The sat nav told them where to go, so all Conn really had to do was enjoy the scenery.

Conn bit her lower lip until it felt like mince meat, but still couldn't shake the strange feeling she got. She could be going home. She could actually soon see this nightmare of hers end. So why was she feeling so glum?

The black bag with the guns was tugged at the backseat. Conn hoped that Carmen wouldn't argue with her about the weapons when they got to the site. She really needed them if she was going to survive on the other side.

The car stopped and to her surprise, they where already there.

"Wow, you were fast." Conn commented.

"Yeah well, when you don't have to care about the speed limits.." Carmen shrugged her shoulders.

"Come on."

The guard got the gun bag from the car and followed Conn inside a hangar. They were stopped at the door by one of Becker's men, but lucky for them it was Trusty. The big man nodded to them and opened the door to let them in.

..

"Sarah!"

"Conn! How did you get here?"

"It's ok, I have clearance." Conn winked. "Lester himself gave me one."

"Lester?" Sarah quirked her eyebrow. "Are you sure?"

"Mm-hmm." Conn dropped to one knee to look at the anomaly locking device. "This is the backup, what happened to the real thing?"

"A car happened."

"Oh, are they one the other side?"

"Yeah, Danny, Becker, Abby and Connor." Sarah shook her head. "Abby wouldn't wait; she thinks her brother is in there too."

"..They went without the proper firepower?" Conn took a steadying breath. "Those idiots."

"It's not like Becker didn't try.."

"Well he should have tried harder. He's like a foot taller than Abby, he should have stopped her."

"Conn." Sarah stopped her before she could go on rambling anymore.

"Yeah fine. Ok." She grabbed the black bag from the guard. "This is all, right?"

"Yes miss." The guard nodded.

"Open it." Conn told Sarah, who complied. The Egyptologist shared a look of concern with the guard, but said nothing. Conn waived goodbyes to the two women. And then she walked back to her nightmare.

…

She heard the shots as she exited on the other side of the anomaly. She also heard Abby screaming. Her heart leaped to her throat as she pulled out the pistol and turned the safety off.

"Right. Here we go." She whispered and forced her feet to move towards the sounds.

The rough, dry, grass rustled under her stomping feet as she ran as fast as she could past the wrecked cars. She could see a bright yellow sport car just up ahead. But no predators, or giant bugs. She stopped briefly to catch her breath and then she saw them.

"Abby, Connor!" She called out for them. They were pulling on a rope. "Where's Dan, and Becker?"

"Danny's down there." Abby grimaced nodding towards the opening in the building where the rope vanished into the darkness. "And so is Jack."

"And Becker?"

"We don't know." Connor panted. "Went that way a minute or so ago." He looked to his left.

"Right. You two ok?"

"Yeah."

"Ok, see in a bit."

"Hey wait..!"

Conn turned to look at the pair.

"He pulled a pack of predators with him." Abby said, watching the dark haired woman turn pale.

"He did what?" Conn nearly dropped the gun she was holding. "Shit!" She was running before either of them could say another word. Just then Danny climbed out and they had to concentrate at the task in hand.

..

Conn ran past demolished walls of the dead city. Her eyes scanned the area but there was no sign of the predators or the captain. For a moment she debated whether to call out for him, but abandoned the idea when she heard the telltale chitter-chatter of the predators.

She stepped back until her shoulder hit the wall. "Ok, you can do this." She whispered to herself. She pulled out the back orb form the bag. It was a stun grenade.

She sneaked closer to the corner of the building and peeked around it.

And there he was. Surrounded by those creatures. They had him pinned to the ground.

Conn gulped. "Ok, one, two.. Three…" She stepped into plain view. "Becker! She yelled. "Stun grenade!" And then she threw it, clasping her hands to her ears and opening her mouth wide. She saw half the pack turn at her direction, and as she prayed the grenade would work, it exploded.

The pack was sent screaming in all directions. The predators scattered around, falling down to the ground. Conn watched in amazement. "It worked." She whispered to herself. Her ears rang and she had somewhat double vision. She saw him stand up and hurried by his side.

"You ok?" She asked.

He nodded, but then staggered and almost dropped to his knees.

"Come on, get up. We have to get back." She grabbed his left arm and he winced. "Huh? You're hurt!"

"Yeah."

Her face hardened. "Come on. Move."

"My gun."

"Leave it, I have a spare."

With a groan of protest he let her drag him away. As they got around the corner he stopped her. Leaning to the wall he panted heavily. He held out his right hand and Conn gave him the gun she had been holding. He checked the magazine, and then sighed. "What where you thinking?"

"I wasn't." She gave a nervous laughter as she dug out a combat shotgun from the bag. "I tend to do that you know."

"I'm learning."

"We have to go help Abby and Connor."

"They'll manage, what we have to do is go back to the anomaly and secure the site before those things wake up."

"That would be soon."

"Yeah. Let's go."

..

TBC.


	11. Chapter 11

If you recognize it, I don't own it.

NOTE! This chapter has not been spell checked.

**Primeval – In Between**

Chapter 10.

It was so quiet.

They walked in silence. Wind blew the dust around them and the dry grass rustled every now and then. The car wreckage forced them to climb every now and then, and it slowed them down even more than his occasional breaks.

"Do you need help?" She asked when he pushed himself of yet another wall and swayed a bit. His combat vest was ripped open from the back and she could see the blood trickle from several cuts.

"I'm fine."

"I've seen better looking road kill you know." She grimaced as she leaned in to take a closer look.

"I said I'm fine. Stop fussing."

Conn shook her head. "You can't even walk straight!"

"Corinne! We don't have the time!"

"Two minutes." She answered stubbornly. "I'll check your back in two minutes."

"It's just cuts. Let it go."

"Why are you so pig-headed?"

"I'm not. We just do not have the time."

"So if the pack attacks what are you going to do? Bleed on them?"

Becker gave a small growl of frustration. "Fine, help me with this." He motioned to his vest. "Take the slugs, you're going to need them." Conn plugged the shotgun ammunition out and dropped them to the bag. Then she reached out for the zipper on the front. "I can do that myself." He tried but she just swatted his hands away.

He sighed and scanned the area as her nimble fingers unfastened the clasps of his vest. And even though she obviously tried to be careful, every time the fabric moved against the broken skin on his back he had to clench his teeth not to cry out. Maybe his back was worse than he had thought.

"Ok, Can you shed it?" She asked. He lowered his arms down and shrugged the stiff vest half off; she pulled it down rest of the way. "Shit..." She whispered. The vest dropped with thud to the ground.

"That bad huh?"

"I've seen worse ...But that parasaurolophus was dead."

"You know, as far as giving reassuring pep talks, you suck." He chuckled.

"Yeah I guess." She shrugged her shoulders. "I can't do anything for that. Sorry Becker."

"Could be worse."

"Oh? How?" She quirked her eyebrow.

"It could be your back."

Conn looked up sharply. He looked down at her with a lazy grin.

"You're delirious." She shook her head. "We have to go. Come on."

"Corinne." The smile had vanished and his tone was dead serious.

"If it comes to that, you have to leave me."

"As if." She snorted.

"I'm serious."

"So am I. You wouldn't leave me if the tables were turned. Get it through your stick skull, captain. I am not leaving anyone here." She hissed angrily. They stared at each other for a second or two. Then he turned and started walking. She flung the bag over her shoulder and followed him.

..

They found the anomaly few blocks down just as a massive explosion wracked the air. Becker pushed her inside a half demolished car and dived after in her. A hand on her mouth kept her quiet, even though her eyes said much. Mostly they cursed.

"They'll be coming this way. We might have to do an ambush." He removed his hand. "So be quiet."

Conn nodded. She fixed her eyes to the line of cars in front of them.

A minute went by. Then another. And another. Conn fidgeted on her seat. She checked her shotgun for the fourth time. Then she fidgeted some more.

"Be quiet." He whispered.

"I am quiet." She whispered back.

"No you're not. You're making more noise than..."

"There they are!" She suddenly yelped. Becker rolled his eyes to the ceiling, praying for patience. Then he turned his gaze forward.

Danny, Connor, Abby and a kid he figured was Abby's bother, were running towards them. A predator was following them close by. "Give me the shotgun." He held his hand out and Conn complied hastily.

As the rest of the team ran past them, Becker took aim of the predator. And as it passed over their car he fired through the sunroof. And to her surprise he stood up and fired again, making sure the thing was dead.

Then all went a bit crazy. She was pulled out and pushed forward to the anomaly. As she went through her only thought was that this wasn't suppose to happen. But the hard concrete under her chin was solid reminder that she was back to the wrong present.

"Lock it down!" Someone yelled.

..

Abby sat up next to her. The blond smiled and nodded, and then turned to her brother.

Conn turned to her back and laid her head to the dusty floor, and chuckled. She stared at the roof, listening to Danny mock Becker, Sarah asking question frantically, Abby scolding her brother in loving manner. Only one that was quiet was Connor.

She turned to look at the male version of herself and found him staring with empty eyes to the anomaly. Conn frowned. It was odd to see him like that. A glance at Abby told her much though, as she was hugging her brother, but her eyes were glued to the dark haired genius. Conn shook her head slightly, no matter what had happened between the two, it wasn't her fight. She just hoped they could sort it out.

"You alright?" Danny asked her and offered her a hand to help her up.

"Yeah."

"Up you go." He pulled her standing.

"You know Dan, I think I'm going to stay here for a while."

"That's good love, since I don't think I could let you back there anyway." He grinned and then wrapped his arm to her shoulder. "Let's go get me some plasters for this bite."

"You might need a tetanus shot you know."

"Blimey, no needles for me." He laughed heartily.

"You scared of tiny pointy things?" Conn chuckled. "I would have never guessed." She glanced at the captain, being helped up by his fellow soldiers. Their eyes met and he nodded. "Wait for a minute Dan?"

"Nah, you go get your action man, this old chap can walk on his own." He winked and pushed her towards Becker. "Besides, he might need you to kiss something better."

Conn managed to pout before she broke into laughter.

Yeah, she could stay a little longer.

..

TBC


End file.
